MJ Martin

Agree with Blake — the Merritt program is great. I also volunteered at Tilden’s native nursery on Thursday mornings — propagating, etc. It was a great way to learn about natives. U.C. Botanical Garden and the Tilden Park (native) Botanical Garden are both stunning places to check out CA natives in a park setting.

you may also want to check out the horticulture program at Merritt College for i.d. classes. http://www.merrritt.edu

A year plus ago I attended Richard Scott’s Accurate Freehand Persepective Drawing class in San Francisco and found him to be one of the clearest art teachers I’ve ever had. It was not an easy class, but he was so calm and insightful. He gave very specific instruction with steps to follow. What stands out the most is how much he enjoys what he does.

I was fortunate enough to take Richard Scott’s rendering classes in school at Cal Poly Pomona and a water coloring class with him in Florence.

The man is brilliant. He completely understands the art and the science of color, perspective and technique and knows how to utilize them very well. I would more than recommend taking any courses you can…[Read more]

Mark,
I’m taking Richard Scott’s Graphic Workshop this weekend in Philly. While I’m happy with my graphics I think its important to explore new options. I’ll let you know what I think after this weekend.

Elif;
All the ideas written to you are good/great. I would also like to add how important relationships are, especially the more involved/complicated/pricey a job goes.

History shows that the great designers were also people who were great “relaters”. Be personable, be authentic, be passionate, and be honest with your clients . . . it’ll carry…[Read more]

Hi Elif,
Glad that you found my comments helpful. 🙂

Thank you very much. It’s always nice to get suggestions from experienced Landscape Architects as yourselves. I’ll try to follow and let you know about the result.

Hi Elif,
I have always maintained that there is a profound difference between ‘planning’ a space and ‘designing’ a space. A good design trancends a good plan, but a good design must be based on a good plan.

Part of what makes a design a good design is its uniqueness or as you call it, its identity.

In my opinion the first person to whom you need…[Read more]

Hi there,

I’m new to land8lounge and this is my first group to have joined.
Hope to explore all of these web-site’s features and to get in touch with a lot of new collegues…

Greetings from Croatia

Hi Elif,
Now this is an interesting discussion, and I agree with a lot of what Michelle has to say, and I would like to add some of my own comments just as soon as I have time , perhaps over the week-end. Greetings from Ireland.
Hugh

Elif,
Not all well healed clients speak the language of art or architecture.
If you use stories to relate your design charrettes then you have to speak to them in a language that they understand.
If your client is a doctor use medical metaphors. In essence you are meeting your client at a level that they feel comfortable and knowledgeable in.

In…[Read more]

Has anyone seen a CA native develop over time? I’m interested in how native gardens survive in the real world of residencia. I’m using my own yard as a test, having just planted about 50 various species. They’re all infants right now, but I’m very excited to see how they grow,

Thank you very much Chris. I probably share a common problem with other Landscape Architects. Hopefully in time, it will change!
Greetings from Istanbul!

Thanks for the suggestion.
I also prepare images and perspectives. What I wanted to ask was: Generally the client doesn’t know what they want and when you come up with new ideas rather than the usual concepts, they don’t understand it. Therefore I develop a story for them. For example, I say ” It’s a Mondrian Garden and the design structure is ……[Read more]

Elif,
I hope I understand your question, here’s goes. When I present a project to a client I bring pictures of plants and I try and draw quick perspesctives or elevations of the job. A lot of people can not visualize a plan view into a real life project. They have not had the training we have and don’t look at plans as we do. When I go to their…[Read more]

I have a question!
Each time I prepare a project, I write a story for it. I try to present it telling this strory. I don’t simply say “Here a group of shrubs you like and some other here!”
My clients are quite high level people but I don’t know why they don’t understand much when I try to give an identity to the design I prepare for them.
I would…[Read more]

hey! i’m beginning to study the native trees of california. i live in NJ now, but come June moving to San Francisco. How is the LA job market out there? I was just laid-off here in Jersey.

By the way, for the January workshop 2009, if you know of someone who may need this loose and good hand skills, this may be a good time for them to join me, so please encourage them to take this opportunity for the life changing experience. Currently, I am offering $400 off the tuition to help out someone who may need this big discount to offset…[Read more]

Thanks a lot. I will check him out